White Light White Heat
Gigantic Brewing Company

 

 

 

Not so hoppy, but definitely danky.

 

 

 

 

Deep, golden amber-orange beer, few fingers of sudsy white head. Lace trails down the glass. Great IPA for my tastes - aromas of citrus, flowers, dry spices, and unripe tropical fruits. Tastes right along the same lines. I feel like I'm tasting the green edge on the unripe fruit, giving it an excellent edge, like pith does for citrus.... Tight, with a medium-weight body; soft and smooth, mild bitterness. Straddles the line between American and Belgian IPAs. Features Galaxy, Simcoe, and Cascade hops. I really dug it.

 

 

 

 

Medium amber color with a big pile of foam in the Affligem chalice. this tastes more like an Imperial Witbier than an IPA. Pencil shavings and white pepper. Surprisingly aromatic but hard to identify.

There is some fruit with the abundant malt. Is that a touch of mango? or green papaya? Pleasantly sudsy, an appealing mouthfeel. Rather bitter with that woody taste. Slightly tannic. Crisp and refreshing, with the malt providing a mellow and rich taste.

Quite drinkable and interesting, though not quite like any IPA you may have had before. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at a supermarket in in Portland.

 

Poured from 22oz bomber into a tulip.

Appearance: light orange hue with a minimal haze and a light effervescence. Head is a finger of frothy ivory foam which leaves a very nice lace on the glass. I think it's quite attractive indeed.

Smell: lightly fruity hops with a bit of a tropical character. There's a fair sweetness and just a dash of malt; overall, it's smooth. It reminds me of blossoming fruit trees for some reason; quite decent.

Taste: smooth and floral with some of that tropical fruitiness. Good, although it's a bit too sweet for my taste. Bitterness is also on the low-side, but this is not a dealbreaker.

Mouthfeel: medium body but with a big, well-integrated carbonation that yields a surprisingly big and surprisingly appropriate creaminess for this beer. I love it.

Overall: this beer isn't a perfect IPA, but the fruitiness really appeals to me. I admit it could be less sweet, but between the freshness and springiness of the hops and the outstanding texture, I rather like this beer.

12oz glass at the Underground's tap takeover of Gigantic's strangely limited list of available brews. Here's hoping Lou Reed's prowess imbues this offering.

This beer appears a clear, medium copper amber colour, with one anemic finger of frothy, sudsy, and weakly bubbly off-white head, which leaves a decent array of looming avalanche lace around the glass as it lazily recedes.

It smells of bready, doughy pale malt, biscuity caramel, estery yeast, citrus zest, acrid pine needles, indistinct earthy spice, and more leafy, herbal, and grassy hop bitterness. The taste is grainy, gritty caramel malt, edgy Belgo-yeast, zippy orange and white grapefruit, a softened pine needle greenness, still muddled south Asian spice, and further leafy, weedy, and mildly perfumed hops.

The carbonation is moderate, providing an adequate support structure beyond its basic taunting frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, just a wee yeasty tic making baby Jesus cry beyond its station. It finishes off-dry, the unloved malt doing what it does best - keeping a roof over all those gay frolickers' freaking heads.

Once again, my aging distaste for this hybrid style faces a serious challenge - the melding of a big PACNW DIPA and some old-school Low Countries yeast here doesn't offend my sensibilities in the least. In fact, I rather enjoy this, especially given the well-restrained alcohol measure, so while not exactly a proper patio dealio, I can still recommend this for what it is - very good, with or without some Velvet Underground kickin' it in the background.

 

Poured into a Blanche de Namur small pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a half finger pale tan head with great retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of citrus and grassy hops, bready malt, cardamom, light tropical fruit; pleasantly spicy. Flavor is wheat, bready malt, citrus and mildly grassy hops, Belgian yeast, cardamom and clove. Very nice creamy body with excellent mouth feel, surprisingly pleasant. A flavorful hybrid of witbier and imperial IPA, with good Belgian IPA profile, but a more substantial ABV (which is very well hidden, actually). Witbier character in the background, but nice citrusy hops and light fruit flavors from the IPA side of the family. Although the hops are somewhat reserved, they are pleasant and leave a nice lingering hop bitterness in the finish that melds well with the spices. I liked this a lot.